About to start IV clindamycin – urgent questions

[jfr]

Thanks, Kat. Reading your posts last week helped me a lot in preparing for my adventure. I hope for a similar outcome to yours!

Judy

[kat]

Thank YOU jfr. It's nice to know that some of my posts might have been of benefit, that makes me happy. 🙂

[Parisa]

My husband has been on IV antibiotics daily for about two months now.  We takes several heavy duty probiotics (Theralac and VSL3 and we also rotate in basic acidophilus).  He takes a couple at night right before bed and some more midday. You do not want a candida problem in addition to everything else.  Probiotics are very important.

[jfr]

IV #5 was this morning and now I am so HOT. It's definitely coming from inside me, not the outside temp. Feels like a hot flash but it's not going away. Did anyone else have this effect? I'm not worried, just wondering.

Judy

[kat]

Yes, I had this. I already did have some hot flashes but they got a bit worse and one evening during the IV the nurse had to bring me ice in a washcloth. That really helped a lot. I believe this is a pretty normal reaction even though not everyone gets it. I'd mention it to your doc or IV nurse though, so that they are aware of it.

[jfr]

Update:

The Clindy IVs went very well. Thanks for all the support! I was exhausted the weekend after the IVs and slept a lot. Then I felt GREAT (better than in months) 1st part of the week after the IVs, but today I got REALLY bad diarrhea and have felt spacey (brain fog), tired, sweaty and low energy. My stomach is a bit upset. Don't think I'm sick. Is this a herx? I haven't had one yet from all the Clindy and wonder if we're finally starting to get somewhere here.

Here is what I've introduced in the last couple of days, after taking a little break after the IVs:
Mino 100mg 2x daily (per Dr. S's recommendation to my doc)
Hyperbaric oxygen – changed depth today to more effective bug-killing pressure
Diflucan – took two pills, last was yesterday, for yeast problem that developed after IVs (under control now, I think)
Back on probiotics since IVs were done.

So, do you think this is a herx? If so, do I just keep doing what I'm doing, or do I back off anything? I'm functional, but had to cancel a class I was supposed to teach for tomorrow because it's very physical and I'm not up for it.

Thanks for any feedback you can send my way!

Judy

[A Friend]

[user=324]jfr[/user] wrote:

Update:

The Clindy IVs went very well. Thanks for all the support! I was exhausted the weekend after the IVs and slept a lot. Then I felt GREAT (better than in months) 1st part of the week after the IVs, but today I got REALLY bad diarrhea and have felt spacey (brain fog), tired, sweaty and low energy. My stomach is a bit upset. Don't think I'm sick. Is this a herx? I haven't had one yet from all the Clindy and wonder if we're finally starting to get somewhere here.

Here is what I've introduced in the last couple of days, after taking a little break after the IVs:
Mino 100mg 2x daily (per Dr. S's recommendation to my doc)
Hyperbaric oxygen – changed depth today to more effective bug-killing pressure
Diflucan – took two pills, last was yesterday, for yeast problem that developed after IVs (under control now, I think)
Back on probiotics since IVs were done.

So, do you think this is a herx? If so, do I just keep doing what I'm doing, or do I back off anything? I'm functional, but had to cancel a class I was supposed to teach for tomorrow because it's very physical and I'm not up for it.

Thanks for any feedback you can send my way!

Judy

Judy,

Here's more feedback than you probably wanted.  The search I did turned up a tremendous amount of information that I, personally, wanted to hang onto…. so…. I pasted it into an e-mail to myself.  Am pasting the “finds” below.  One thing I want to say to reply to your symptoms above is that we can expect the die-off reaction when an effective treatment is used, and organisms (any or many kinds) die off.  Our sick body has to process this die-off, and our liver and other detox organs have to deal with it.  I've read that the chemistry of this die-off is like a poison and affects even our brains, and can make us feel spacey and cause all sorts of feelings and reactions until the debris is cleared out.  It is important that we learn about drinking lots of pure water to help flush this through (along with other good things that our body needs to support it).  Eating healthily (mainly vegetables/vegetable protein and small amount of fruit, and not overburdening our bodies with having to digest heavy meat protein during this time has been recommended, thus freeing the body/liver to do more detoxing of die-off.

The following contain Herxheimer information relating to different types of organism die-off:
 
http://www.anapsid.org/lyme/herx.html
 
Melissa Kaplan's
Lyme Disease
Part of the Anapsid.org Chronic Neuroimmune Diseases Information Resources for CFS, FM, MCS, Lyme Disease, Thyroid and more…
Last updated April 19, 2007 
 

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http://overcomingcandida.com/anti_candida_drugs.htm
Beating the Fungus
 
Hang on to this site!  A huge number of topics related to specifics of fungus are discussed and can be very important. 
 

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Best of luck to you, and may you feel much better before too long.  It took me about 4 months of the die-off period to begin having the “good days” that heralded things were at last turning around. 

AF

[jfr]

Thanks for the great links, AF. Now that I'm further into it, this has to be a herx. I haven't had brain fog like this since my CF years, which was a long time ago. Interestingly enough, I was expecting a lot of RA pain, but that's not the problem. This feels like yeast die off, which makes sense since I did get a yeast infection from my IVs.

Is there any point in taking a smaller dose of the mino while this is going on?

[A Friend]

[user=324]jfr[/user] wrote:

… This feels like yeast die off, which makes sense since I did get a yeast infection from my IVs.  ….Is there any point in taking a smaller dose of the mino while this is going on?

Judy,

I've read that when we're having [an unbearable] Herx from the abx, it is good to cut back. 

If this is indeed a herx from yeast, then you may want to get some more opinions — I believe I will defer to the real experts on this. 

The trouble is, you may have trouble finding one familiar with yeast overgrowth.  Back when I had this problem about 1993-94, they generally had the “deer in the headlights” look and apparently no knowledge about it.  I'm remembering it wasn't until pediatricians treating children's ears with abx started insisting mothers give probiotics to their children that some of the doctors paid attention. 

But, I'm thinking I still hear little about this, except from some of the AP physicians.  I was a patient of Dr. S in Ia. for 2-1/2 years, but I'd already been through a serious bout of [systemic yeast problem] before I began AP and had effective treatment]; but, I don't remember Dr. JS and I ever discussing taking probiotics or any other supplements.  (Dr. Wm Crook had already turned my yeast problems around (using 4 months of daily Diflucan), and I was then and am now staying on a pretty strict regimen for yeast prevention and taking large doses of probiotics. 

I'll be looking for an answer to your question about your Minocin if you have a yeast problem.  Definitely, I believe you need an antifungal for this, along with replacement of good flora with probiotics. 

AF

[jfr]

Just talked to my doctor. He thinks the hyperbarics and the antibiotics together are proving to be too much at once and suggested I stop the antibiotics until i feel better. The hyperbarics will also kill yeast, so that's where I have to focus my attention right now. He also suggested I come use the far infrared sauna in his office, which supposedly helps with herx reactions.

Wow, I really feel AWFUL! It's like being really drunk but without any of the good feelings that usually go with that, or maybe should say it's like being really hung over – including dizziness. Interestingly enough, though, my RA is not acting up at all. In fact, some of the usual pain is gone. I'm hoping that's a good sign.

[jaydee]

Thank you for your posting, it was quite timely as I've been dealing with the issue of IV Clin for my wife for several days. She was under the care of Dr. in Dalton, Ga, and just spoke to the office of Dr. S in Ida Grove as well to hear both opinions. Dr. S in Ga, (as per his nurse) wants to see how my wife's RA factor has been holding up. Is it going up, down or is it in a plateau before recommending anything. We are in Toronto, Canada, so it's quite far to travel for both Dr S's in Dalton and Ida Grove. Can the IV Clin be done in Toronto, Canada? Has anyone done it? More importantly is the obvious inconvenience worth the chore if she is at about 90% of normal? Will she achieve some sort of remission or great improvent above and beyond the 90% mark?

thank you all so much.
jd

[jfr]

I wish I could answer all your questions, but hopefully others with more experience will chime in. What I can tell you is that any doctor who wants to do the IV Clindy protocol can call Dr. S. in Iowa and get the details from him. That's what my doc did.

Also, your question of whether it's worth doing at this point is a good one, and to me one of the big factors would be what she's taking to maintain that level of 90%. If she's on relatively benign stuff, or maintaining without anything, I'd be very careful about rocking the boat. If, however, she's on drugs that don't do so well for the long term, that would make a difference.

[jaydee]

My wife RA 7 years or so, has been in Minocin, antifungals, anti-inflamatories, diet of no wheat, sugar, and plenty of exercise. Except for 2 knuckles in her hands that are large and some stiff wrists, I would say she is quite well. She basically does everything anyone else does and more, and about 99% of the time, I don't even think about her having RA. So all in all I would say it's pretty good, give or take the very odd day that she may feel some generalized pain. But like I said, 90% well for the most part. Hence my question, do we mess around looking for that elusive 10% or do we leave sleeping dogs lie?

thanks for your comments
Jd

[A Friend]

Jaydee,

I thought of something I read today in the Needs.com newsletter when I read about your wife's elusive 10% you mentioned in your post.  This may have nothing to do with your wife's missing 10%, but it may.  And if it doesn't, it still may make for good reading if she has fatigue that comes and goes.  A physician who has treated patients for years with fatigue type syndromes has determined some things about mitochrondria and ATP involved in some chronic fatigue syndromes.

The link is:

http://www.needs.com/product/NDNL-0808-01/htc_Chronic_Fatigue_Fibromyalgia_Formulas

AF

 

[Author]

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